Wheel truing brake shoe



May `27, 1952 F. w. MacDoNALD ETAL 2,597,883

WHEEL TRUING`A BRAKE SHOE Filed 001;. 3l, 1,949

lo W (u EL [u [zo l/ZZ l lJNVEIS/ToRs Fnaoemcx W. MAc DONALD AN-ruoNv LAvRmo Patented May 27, 1 952 Y, WHEEL TRUING BRAKE SHOE Frederick W. MacDonald and Anthony Lavrino, Detroit, Mich., assignors to Wheel Truing Brake Shoe Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October 31, 1949, Serial No. 124,647

` 2 Claims.

- 1 This invention relates to a new anduseful device for truing wheels of railway vehicles.

Wheels of railway vehicles become deformed in a number of ways while the vehicles are in road service. The wheel flange may become too long due to excessive Wear of the wheel tread, the tread may become at in spots from skidding on the rail when the brakes have been applied, or the tread may be worn to a hollow or grooved shape. These conditions result in unsafe or poor riding conditions and must be corrected whenever they occur.

The present practice in the railway industry for correcting deformations in a railway wheel is either to remove the deformed wheel from the railway vehicle of which it is a part and perform the necessary cutting and grinding operations thereon, or to substitute for the conventional brake shoe of the deformed wheel a wheel truing brake shoe containing an abrasive material and to grind the wheel while the vehicle is in motion. Neither of these practices is in all instances satisfactory. In the former, the vehicles are rendered inoperative for excessive lengths of time causing economic losses, while in the latter, di'iculty frequently is encountered in truing the wheel fiange to its proper size with respect to the wheel tread.

The present invention overcomes these unsatisfactory practices and comprises a wheel truing brake shoe which can be used for truing wheels of railway vehicles while the vehicles are in road service by being substituted for the conventional brake shoe of a wheel which requires truing, or one which has a flange which must be cut down to size with respect to the wheel tread.

In the present invention a Wheel truing brake shoe is provided which has a metal cutting tool for cutting the flange of the wheel combined with an abrasive material for grinding both the wheel tread and the flange.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide, in combination, a cutting tool for cutting the flange portion of a wheel so as to restore the normal relationship between the wheel tread and the flange, and an abrasive element for further truing both the wheel tread and the flange of the wheel after the cutting tool has performed its function of trimming the ange.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel wheel truing brake shoe for rapidly truing metallic wheel rims to a predetermined contour While the wheels are maintained in service.

It is another object of this invention to provide means for controlling the rate of feed of a cutting tool for cutting the fiange of a wheel and for maintaining substantially constant the difference in diameters of the flange and tread of said wheel.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the inner face of the wheel truing brake shoe.

Fig. 2 is an end view partly in section of the wheel truing brake shoe shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 2--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the modied form of the wheel truing brake shoe shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a railway wheel, partly in section, and a wheel truing brake shoe.

The preferred form of the present invention is illustrated in Figures 1-3, wherein a wheel truing brake shoe I0 is shown which has an arcuate shaped backing member 2U divided into a series of pockets 22 into which an abrasive material 24 is packed and fused by a heating operation. Spaces 26 are provided between the pockets 22, and a cutting tool 28 is held by the arcuate shaped backing member 20 at one side of the middle space 26. The tool is held in a suitable type of way 29 and is brazed or otherwise secured in position. The cutting edge 30 of the cutting tool 28 is formed to give a desired cut on the wheel flange of the wheel. An opening 32 in the arcuate shaped backing member 20 is provided through which chips cut by tool 28 will be thrown out of the shoe.

The abrasive material 24 is formed in two layers. A coarse abrasive 34 comprises the lower layer and has the primary function of truing the tread and iiange of the wheel, and a fine abrasive 36, which is in the form of a pad disposed over the lower layer, has the primary function of controlling the rate of feed of the cutting tool 28 to the wheel flange. The thickness of the layer of line abrasive 36 is predetermined so that the coarse abrasive 34 will commence to grind the wheel at about the time the ange has been cut by the cutting tool 28 to a desired size and shape with respect to the tread of the wheel.

Thus, two grades of abrasive materials are utilized. One is a coarse grade for performing the major portion of the grinding operation. The other is a line grade which is relatively soft and which Wears more rapidly than the coarse abrasive. The line abrasive is used as a pad over part or all of the coarse abrasive and is designed to wear away as the cutting tool cuts the flange while being supported and guided from the wheel tread by the said pad.

When the wheel truing brake shoe l0 is to be placed in operation, it is substituted for the brake shoe of the Iwheel requiring truing. The Wheel truing brake shoe I0 then applied to wheel 50, as shown in Fig. .6; Whilethe Vehicle in operation in carrying out the truing operation, To permit inter-changeability of these brake shoes a conventional brake shoe Isupporting means isV employed with the present wheel truing brake shoe I0. As illustrated in the drawings; .thearcue ate shaped backing member 20 is provided on its vouter iside witha lug 38 for .support thereoi in a .conventional brake vshoe mountingmnana Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 illustrated a ,mQdBdQIll Of the invention shown in Figs. 1-3 andlik@ Darts are identified by like reference numbers,

lIn the modied form of the invention, cutting tool.. 4.o. is mounted at one end of the arcuate shaped backing' member 2i!` rather than at the mid-portion as ,shown in the preferred ,form 0f the invention. member 42 is cut away, as atz, iso ,that the chips cut. bythe cutting tool 4l)` will fall out through the cut-away portion, .This form 0f the invention is. substantially lthe .same in all other respects as thepreferred formof the inventiQil.-

Each form ofr the invention has been found to be most suitable for -certain operating conditions. In vthe form .of the. invention shown in Figs. 1-3, it has beenfound that greater supportisprivided for the `cutting tool 28, since the arcuate shaped backing member 20 is supported adjacent the base of the cutting tool 28 at the lug 38, and there is less possibility .of the .cutting tool 28 being moved out of contact lwithy the `wheel ange when the brakes are applied than Vis the case with the `form of the invention shown in Figs. .4 Aand 5. Because of the `-more-rigidsupport'for the :cutting tool 28 provided inthe preferred form of theinvention, this for-mis foundmost suitable for use when it is desired to Acut a flange having a rough outer edge or when a-rapid feedof the clutting-toolis desired. Themodiied for-rn of the -invention, which has ythe cutting -tool 40 mounted away from Ythe support for the-arcuate shaped backing member 42, is found most suitable for f Vuse w-hen it 'is desired to reduce gradually vthe The `arcuate sha-ned backing` diameter of the Wheel flange a relatively large amount.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

l. A wheel truing brake shoe adapted for use in truing a conventional railway car wheel having a circumferential tread portion and a flange eX- tending radially outwardly tlierefrprn,A said brake shoe comprising@ arcuate kshaped backing member having side and end flanges projecting inwardly from the concave surface thereof, a cutting toolholder in said backing member adjacent one ofsaidside flanges and projecting inwardly from rsaid. mlllave,. surface, a cutting tool mount- Qd in Said-toolholder and having a U -shaped cutting edge adapted for cutting the flange of said car wheelpand'a coarse abrasive material mounted 4on the GQ11622616 vsurface of said backing memberbetween saidside and end ilanges and adapted for. grinding the tread of said car wheel, said coarse abrasive material projecting inwardly fur- .ther thangsaid ,cutting tool so that the grinding and cutting operations Canbtarriedut :simultaneously on the tread and flange of said Wheel.

2. The Wheel .truing brake shoe of `claim l wherein the grinding. .Surface of said coarse abrasive material projects .inwardly of the cutting edge 0f ,Said .cutting ,m01 predetermined .distance. arida relatively vfine Soft abrasive pad is mounted 011th@ e .riding Surface .0i said .coarse 1 abrasive material" so ,that when saidbrak shoe is initially applied ,to a railway-,Car AWheel having an abnormally long flange `caaisjierl by wear of they/.heel tread the rate .at which .Said `Soft abrasive pad is worn away will. control the rate of ,feed of said-cutting toni..

'FREDERICK-W; MAcDoN-ALD.

ANTHONY LAVRINO.

REFERENCES.. CITED' The following references are ofrecord in the 'le of this patent;

UNlTED ,STATES PATENTS `Postma.., June 29, 19.48 

